student and teacher tutorial

One-to-One Tutorial

The cornerstone of the Landmark School program and the mainstay of our method since day one when we opened in September of 1971, has been our personalized, one-to-one tutorial. According to a comprehensive research review by the Johns Hopkins University School of Education’s Center for Research and Reform in Education, the one-to-one tutorial model is the “gold standard among interventions for struggling readers.”

Individualized Curriculum

We don’t follow a single teaching methodology, such as Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, or Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing® Program for Reading, Spelling, and Speech (LiPS®), but draw on these—and many more to meet the individual needs of each student. Landmark teachers have the expertise and take the time to understand their students and build a program just for them, always grounded in the science of reading and structured literacy. It is an entirely customized approach, where teachers help students address areas of weakness and reinforce skills until they become automatic. This approach yields exciting and empowering progress with students beginning to understand themselves and how they learn best.

literacy tutorial working on phonemes

Tutorial Features

One-to-one

One teacher working with one student in their own space for the full time-block. The student has the full attention of the teacher for the entire time with no distractions from other students.

Diagnostic 

During the admission process, every student goes through a battery of tests to discover their areas of need. The tutor then continues to give diagnostic testing at check-points, to make sure the student is supported effectively.

Flexible But Structured 

All Landmark tutors have extensive onsite training. Many receive training in how to implement the LiPs program, which teaches phonemic awareness and sound-symbol correspondences. Our approach to teaching reading draws on the same scientific foundation and principles as Orton-Gillingham, but they are not locked into one program. All tutors, supported by academic advisors and knowledge gleaned from the diagnostic testing, pull from a battery of evidence-based methods to find what works best for their student. All tutorials are grounded in the science of reading and use a systematic, sequential, and structured approach.

Integrated 

The language arts tutorial is integrated within the student’s academic schedule. It feels like just another class during the school day. It isn’t a pull-out or in another location or with different teachers. The student’s peers are also taking tutorial, which normalizes the process. The language arts tutorials are taught by instructors who may also teach a content area class. This helps inject tutorial concepts throughout the other academic curriculum.

tutorial student working one on one with teacher on literacy skills

Language Arts Tutorial Focus

Areas of primary focus for Landmark's One-on-One Language Arts Tutorial include:

  • Fluency
  • Decoding
  • Vocabulary
  • Spelling
  • Composition
  • Comprehension
  • Study Skills
  • Transition planning (as needed)

From a Student...

"At Landmark, I found out how I must learn. If I didn’t understand it one way, teachers explained it in several other ways. I found out my best way of learning was visual. I had to see it and sometimes experience it. Everything started to make sense to me."

-Melissa, high school student

 

For an in-depth view of an Elementary•Middle School Reading Tutorial and see examples in action watch this video.